Prices for original Kindle come back down to earth
By Donald Melanson 
posted February 12th 2009 6:11PM
posted February 12th 2009 6:11PM
It may not have the same slimness or Stephen King-inspiring abilities of the new-and-improved Kindle 2, but those looking for a bit of a bargain, or those simply fond of the quirkiness of the original Kindle, can now take their pick from a number of used original Kindles that are finally starting to crop up at decidedly more reasonable prices. Judging from Amazon's own used listings, it seems that $275 is the new average starting price for one in "very good" or "like new" condition, with a whole slew more available in the $300 range, which is a far cry from the $400+ prices some were fetching in the lead up to the Kindle 2.[Via KindleBoards]
Orrrr... I could read a book without scrolling down every sentence or so and without squinting and damaging my eyes with a backlit screen.
Yeah, because it's backlit... *roll eyes*
I don't understand your comment. You don't scroll down and it isn't back lit.
LOL Paul, LOL.
I suppose you also think the iPhone is a netbook? Tell me you're not one of _those_ people too.
UPDATE:
iPhone 2.3 firmware update released 2 seconds ago. features the highly anticipated "COPY Function". Steve Jobs also announces
"iCopy is the newest innovative app from Apple" he also later says that "paste is a bag of hurt"
I don't understand the prices here... isn't the K2 $400?
Seriously, you give rational apple users a bad name. Just stop it.. I love me iPhone but a book reader it is not. I can't imagine reading something like lord of the rings on a screen this small.
Although I'm not interested in the Kindle, I can see a bright future ahead if things pan out the right way. Here is what I want:
-Newspaper subscription with WiFi syncing capabilities. (affordable obviously)
-PDF support.
-MS word support.
-Sub €199 price tag
Combine all those and we will potentially have something that can replace paper while saving a few trees in the process. Until then I have no interest in the kindle.
It kind of do that just right now. You can convert your pdf files, download the newspaper everymorning, probably can convert MS word too... price is still too high but you can pick a competitor! Also its targeted at readers... BUT I think its stupid to buy books from amazon when there is all the classics out there waiting to be read for free.
Jules Verne,
Dostoyevsky,
Conan Doyle,
Flaubert,
Maupassant,
Celine,
Diderot,
Hugo,
Dickens,
Lewis Caroll,
Camus,
Sartre,
Stevenson... so much more..! All for free on the web!
Ho, and there is a lots of manga scans too on the web (unlicensed in occident!) then there is a lots of black and white worthy material there too!
I will get the prs-505 very soon.
Add to that some type of touchscreen interface. ditch the keypad and cursor. Maybe an on/off switch if a touchscreen requires power while not in use. Use the extra real estate for more screen size...
Isn't Josh looking for one of these?
If I could get a used Kindle 1 for 200 I would bite on it on the spot. 300 is just a little too much for me considering I am unsure how much I would use it.
Thing is I already have a iPod Touch and I could read on it but I kinda wanna have my eye sight when I am forty so I would much rather go with a Kindle in that situation.
Sounds wise- I burnt my laptop just to erase the memories of Paul's comments...
He's soooo annoying!
Ho come on, somebody ban this guy. What a jerk.
The sony Prs-505 is 268$ on amazon. I wish the price would go down a bit further for compete the kindle 2...
I must say Paul, you're on top form today.
The iPhone is what they call a jack of all trades. Yes it will do all those things, but none of them spectacularly. The kindle specializes in ebooks, and with its eink screen is able to do them far better than an iPhone
"The iPhone is a netbook,"
A netbook without a keyboard? Riiiight.
That's about $275 too much
JEEZ paul get a life already I mean seriously at every single post that could relate to Apple or Microsoft in anyway you just magically appear and ruin everyone else's computer screen with your idiotic posts. Apple is a great inovative company but you make them sound like an evil cult to me. Just hearing hwo you represent them makes me want to throw my iPod and ibook down the toilet.
I wouldn't want want if it were free or even if they paid me $275 and that goes double for Kindle 2. It looks dorky...
i'm going to smash my macbook over your face you dumb bastard
Paul, do us a favor and find a mirror and tell it about your iPhone. Because quite honestly, it's probably the only thing that cares.
I saw a couple for $225 and $180 but wasn't able to pounce on them in time.
I think these will become ubiquitous in coming years but not until it drops below the $200 mark.
@Boards of Canada, I have news for you, all those authors are available for free download now on Amazon to the Kindle. A short time ago, Amazon put a big selection of public domain books on Kindle download. I downloaded Socrates, Plato, Shakespeare, loads of Joseph Conrad for free from Amazon. I have a Kindle 1.0. It works great still. There was a recent software update for the Kindle 1.0 and even though the K2 is out, my K1 works great.
I also use read PDFs (I just email them to my Kindle.) The screen is easier to read than an iPhone.
In 5 years, these things will be $20 and it will be absolutely necessary because paper will become obsolete.
I'm waiting 5 years.
Oh come on guys, give Paul a break, afterall he can't afford an iPhone and has all these unrealized expectations of it. Kind of like all Paul knows about women:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRU_MmPdGq0
Just ignore him, guys. This dude doesn't even own any Apple products, he just goes around spouting off fanboy garbage in some lame attempt to make Apple fans look bad.
$300 is still not Earthly enough! Chop it further in half and I just might consider.
As long as I'm already over $250, I'd rather just pony up the difference and spring for a new model with text-to-speech so I can steal from authors.
new or old kindle $99 and ability to drag, drop, and read any pdf or Ill never buy
Lessee..?...?.. HEY!! I can get 300 paperbacks at the dollar book store for that price!!
You could also get a used Kindle and 300 free books from manybooks.net for $300.
This isn't worth 50 cents unless its color.. AND has tablet pc capabilities..
Don't be silly and pay for their R&D by buying this 'thing'
$300 is $9 less than what the Kindle cost brand new with the Oprah discount. Not a great price for a used item, though better than the insane prices these things were selling for prior to Christmas.
As for usability, well, I own a Kindle I, and I use mine all the time when I travel. I would enjoy the faster page refresh of he Kindle II, but I don't have a current desire to "upgrade" at the special Amazon price of $359. Yes, that's right--I received a special solicitation from Amazon that invited me, as an early adopter, the chance to pay full price for a Kindle II. I don't quite see the attraction of that.
I still don't think it's quite there yet, and I'm not buying an old Kindle for that much money. The new one MIGHT be worth that much.
Not long ago there was talk of using dual-display technology - LCD (colour, low-light conditions) plus whatever the term for the Kindle display tech is (daylight, large documents), combined in a single tablet PC - which is essentially what the OLPC computer is, except it would need higher resolutions. That would be interesting, but a single function device for $500 seems steep, however elegant.
As for the viability of reading on an iPod, I think it might work in a limited way. The software has to get it right though - allow full customisation of colour, font and background, and it would only be suitable for novels. I can't see how larger documents or newspapers would work on it. For that matter, I don't see how newspapers would work on the Kindle either.
Frankly, I'm also content to wait until the Plastic Logic Reader reaches the market.
kindle 2 be an interesting new technology quite well. Doubt try to see some ownership perished.
http://www.onlineblogshopping.com/amazon-kindle2/
All the people looking for PC functions in a eReader, please do us early adopters a favor: shut up and go get a netbook. It has COLOR, can be had for as low as $150 (on sale), can surf the web, read any PDF, Word, etc.
Jeez, I'm tired of having to read all this crap about how it should have all the functions of a PC all for under $100. That is just not possible in the real world. Components, cost of manufacturing, labor, etc. alone costs around $100. Not to mention marketing costs and so forth.